A new approach to apparel industry

Industrial Engineering in Apparel Industry

It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials and analysis
General Sewing Data

Fast Track training

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

World Class Manufacturing Concepts

GSD
GSD is used to evaluate all operations. Including Cutting, Decorative, Sewing, Pressing, Quality control and packing

Costing design Line balancing Investment Appraisal Pre-production planning Time standards Operator training Methods rationalization

Example - Reduction in SMV

Operation : Sleeve under placket

Parameters SMV CAPACITY

Before GSD 0.534 112

After GSD implementation 0.437 137

PRODUCTION

60

75

Few example

Dispose

Sew
Before GSD SMV Pick up Pnls CAPACITY PRODUCTION 0.30 200 120 After GSD implementation 0.15 400 200

Operation : Collar pick ready

Operation : Collar trim and turn

FAST TRACK TRAINING- QQT

The role of the instructor is to train machinists to achieve their targets of Quality, Quantity and Time, in the shortest possible time.

Fast Track Training

New Operator

Low Performer

Multi Skill

Comparison of Training methods

Training during 1990'S Training during 2000 to 2010 (KSA AAMT)

QQT Methodology

SELECTION CRITERIA Age above 18 years

Age above 18 yrs

Age above 18 yrs

Physical fitness

Trainability assessment for tailors. Operations assigned Based on finger dexterity based on grade obtained in test & color blindness test the trainability assessment for Tailors and others i) Basic knowledge on machines ii) Paper exercises with time targets-6 nos i)Loop exercise No1: Speed ii)Loop exercise No 2: Speed and accuracy

BASIC TRAINING

i) Machine control ii)Training given to sew stitch by stitch

iii) Fabric exercise with time targets-7 nos

iii)Loop exercise No 3: Speed accuracy with precise stoppage

Comparison of Training methods

Training during 1990'S Training during 2000 to 2010 QQT Methodology i)Specific designed fabric exercises for every operation with Quality &Time Targets ii)The operator attains graduation at 80%

i) Training given for semi skilled i)Training on specific operations(eg : Joining 2 parts operations directly by a straight seam)

SKILL TRAINING
ii) On gaining experience of ii)The operator attains about one year they are graduation at 80% trained on skilled operations(eg : Joining 2 or 3 parts by following notches, very long operations like bottom hem, side seam etc.) 1:20 TRAINERTRAINEE RATIO 1:15

1:3

3 to 6 months AVERAGE TRAINING PERIOD

2 To 4 months

4 to 8 days

Snapshot of Trainee graduation Before and After

Foundation Skills
Loop exercise No 1
Sew 2 meter loop in single burst. Single needle lock stitch machine running as fast as it can.

Loop exercise No 2

Sew 2 meter loop in single burst Single needle lock stitch machine running run as fast as it can. Follow the pressure foot margin and sew.

Loop exercise No 3

Sew 2 meter loop in single burst. Single needle lock stitch machine running run as fast as it can. Follow the pressure foot margin and sew. Stop between 2cm,1cm and 1 thick line .

OPERATION SPECIFIC SKILLS- COLLAR RUN

Exercise 1 Target: Time -14 sec. Quality- 40 cm Straight seam in single burst. Purpose: Join 2 pieces Align at foot Straight 40 cm seam One burst of sewing Run off & separate Exercise 2 Target: Time -21 sec Quality- inch seam following foot as guide Purpose: Practice all skills from exercise 1. Stop in corner. Position needle. Exercise 3 Target: Time -24 sec Quality- Making sharp, symmetric corners

40 cms

17cms

Stitch at1/4 margin

40 cms

17cms

Stitch at margin

Purpose: Practice skills from 1&2 Stop in sharp corner. Match cut marks

Lean Manufacturing
It is focusing on the

ELIMINATION of WASTE (nonvalue-added activities) through CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT!

Value-Adding Activities

Transform materials and information into products and services the customer wants

Non-Value-Adding Activities

Consume resources, but don't directly contribute to product or service

Wastes in Manufacturing
Up to 90+% of any Process is Wasted Time or Activity
Excessive Inventories Excessive Motion
(Walking to Next Task, etc.)

Defective Products
(Identifying, Handling, Fixing)

OPERATIONAL LEAD TIME Unneeded Processing Time Waiting

(Often Results of Unbalanced Tasks)

Overproduction

Transportation
(Make Parts Here, Take Upstairs For Assembly)

Wasted Time and Activity Core Process Value

Defective products Overproduction Inventories Excess motion

Processing Transportation Waiting

Lead time reduction: identify and eliminate waste

Causes of Waste
Layout (distance) Long setup times Incapable processes Poor maintenance Supervisory roles Irrelevant performance

practices Poor work methods Lack of training Lack of adherence Large batches

measures Ineffective production planning/scheduling Lack of workplace organization Supplier quality/reliability More

FRONT PANEL

F P

BACK PANEL

P F
F P B P

LOADING

W
END OF LINE CHECKING

P F
FRONT POCKET ATT
LOADING WAIST BAND BUTTON HOLE BACK POCKET FIINISH WAIST BAND BUTTON HOLE BRAND LABEL ATT WAIST BAND TACKING

Sewing Line Layout - Comparison

FRONT & BK PKT B/T

FLY & CROTCH PC B/T
PAIRING & MID LINE CHECKING

BACK PKT BUTTON SEW

BACK PKT BAG CLOSE

LOOP DOWN & TOP B/T

Right fly lining close TRIMMING

SEAT SEAM

WAIST BAND IRON

CONVENTIONAL LAYOUT

FLY TOP STITCH

WAIST BAND EXTN IRON & FLY IRON

WAIST BAND SETTING

WAIST BAND EXTN SEW & TURN

LEAN LAYOUT

w 1 w 2 w 3

HOOK & BAR

WAIST BAND ATT

WAIST BAND EXTN IRON & W/B IRON

WAIST BAND ATT

RGT & LFT FLY ATTACH

waist band blind hem

WAIST BAND TACKING

FLY & CROTCH PC B/T

LOOP DOWN & TOP B/T

waist band blind hem

SEAT SEAM

Due to Single Piece Movement and reduction in WIP the Lead time has significantly reduced and hence improved the Flexibility in terms of Style Changes
FRONT POCKET

WAIST BAND

BODY PANELS

FLY B

FRONT PLEAT

FRONT POCKET ATT & BONE SEW CROTCH SEW WAIST BAND ATT WAIST BAND EXTN SEW & TURN HOOK & BAR FRONT POCKET ATT & BONE SEW SIDE PKT FOLD & SEW SIDE SEAM INSEAM END OF LINE CHECKING
Right fly lining close

FLY TOP STITCH

TRIMMING

BACK PKT BAG CLOSE

SIDE SEAM

BRAND LABEL ATT

FRONT & BK PKT B/T

BONE SEW

BACK PKT BUTTON SEW

WAIST BAND ATT

WAIST BAND ATT

RGT & LFT FLY ATTACH

SIDE PKT FOLD & SEW

BACK POCKET FIINISH

FRONT POCKET ATT INSEAM CROTCH SEW FRONT PLEAT

B P

Balancing of Work Content / Cycle time

CONVENTIONAL CYCLE TIME Vs TAKT TIME
70 60 50 40 30 545453 59 57 4654 46 20 3537 394237374140 4240383741 3342373733 33363727 19 20 10 0
BACK POCKET FINISH FRONT, BACK, W/B, BRAND LABEL ATT WAIST BAND LABEL HOOK & BAR ATTACH W/B EXTN SEW & W/B EXTN IRON & W/B IRON FLY TOP STITCH SEAT SEAM FRONT AND BACK W/B SETTING SIDE SEAM INSEAM LEFT & RGT FLY FRNT POCKET W/B BLIND HEM LOOP DOWN LOOP TOP BARTACK FLY BARTACK & W/B TACKING TRIMMING FRONT FRNT POCKET ATT FRNT POCKET ATT SIDE PKT FOLD & SEW

TIME (IN SECS)

Best Possible Combinations to be close to the Takt Time NEW COMBINATIONS Method Study

Work place engineering and ergonomics

Check Points Introduced

OPERATIONS

LEAN CYCLE TIME Vs TAKT TIME

70 60 50 40 30 58 54 53 53 59 59 58 60 61 58 48 50 50 54 47 53 53 51 47 53 53 43 53 48 54 56 54 20 10 0 FRONT FRNT FRNT FRNT FRONT, BRAND BACK FRONT AND PANNEL SIDE SEAM INSEAM LEFT & RGT HOOK & W/B EXTN W/B EXTN W/B IRON & FLY TOP SEAT SEAM RIGHT FLY LOOP FLY TRIMMING SIDE PKT TIME (IN SECS)

Keeping Material Flow in Mind: Layout Modification INTRODUCTION OF SINGLE PIECE MOVEMENT AFTER LINE BALANCING Takt Time=465 mins / 450 pcs = 62 sec

OPERATIONS

Improvement
Characteristics Production / day Lead time (Days) 1.Efficiency% 3.Multi skill Index 4.WIP In line 5.Rework % Before 301 After

6.Loss time due to style change over Manpower per line

avg 430 1.52Days 94 min 59% 72% 3.43 5 530 pcs < 100 pcs 10.58% < 5% avg 94.70 min < 30 min
54

38

Comparison of Traditional vs. Lean

Traditional

Complex Forecast Driven

Lean

Simple and Visual

Excessive Inventory Speed Up ValueAdded Work Large Batch Production Long Lead Time Quality Inspected-in

Demand Driven Inventory as Needed Reduce Non-ValueAdded Small Lot Size Minimal Lead Time Quality Built-in

Six Sigma approach

D M A I C C

Project Charter

SIPOC

CTQ Tree Diagram

Prioritization matrix

GEMBA

Cause & Effect Diagram

High RPN Causes

FMEA

WHY- WHY Analysis

Solutions to Root cause

Control chart

Defects Zone
A zone The defects of the garment

which is visible when it is packed.

B zone The defects of the garment

which is visible when garment is

opened flat.

C zone The defects which can be

seen when the garment is turned.

List of Top defects

Side Seam- Raw Edge Open Stitch
Count

Pareto Chart of Top Defects- March to May

1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

100 80 60 40 20 0
h it c
Percent

Collar Finish - Down Stitch

Sleeve Placket - Slant & Down Stitch

LIST OF TOP DEFECTS

Uneven Cuff High Low Open Pocket Shape Out & Down Stitch Bottom Hem- Roping Untrim Thread

h h en it ch ng ad itc itc p pi re O St St St St Ro Th n n n w m Lo pe ow ow o w em rim D D h D O H nt ig e & & U H om dg is h nt f ut E n a tt O uf Fi Sl C e Bo aw ar n t R l ap e e o v Sh m C ck ne t la e ea U P S ck e e Po id ev S e Sl

Count Percent Cum %

506 309 226 168 144 96 60 33.5 20.5 15.0 11.1 9.5 6.4 4.0 33.5 54.0 69.0 80.1 89.7 96.0 100.0

Top Defects
Side seam raw edge Cuff Uneven Collar down stitch

Pocket down stitch

Bottom roping

Sleeve Placket Slant & Down Stitch

Cause and effect - Example

Potential causes were identified by Brain storming sessions with the operators.
MAN
M/C control Size mix-up Uneven margin Improper or wrong W/C label attachment Improper armhole T/S Improper trimming Improper sleeve attachment Front & back up & down Folder problem Armpit join up & down Improper feeding Improper armhole T/S Operator handling Fabric constraint at the end of seam Improper sleeve attachment

Cause & Effect diagram was made depicting the causes category wise.

METHOD

Side seam raw edge

Front & back up & down

Blunt needle point Uneven margin Uneven cut parts

MACHINE

MATERIAL

Improve Few examples

Red Flag- new operator/ operator change

Red Flag

In line rework monitoring board

End line rework monitoring board

Control Phase

Data Used to establish control limits

WCM
Work environment 5S - House keeping - Red tag Systematic improvement - Generating new Ideas Kaizen - Employee involvement Self Maintenance - Reduction M/C downtime - Monitor Spares consumption Technology management - New Machineries - Up gradation of new technology

Environment Health and safety - Awareness of seasonal diseases - Near miss Accidents - Visual display for safety People Management - Career Planning - Family Visits for employees - Employee satisfaction and plan

Thank you

Pradeep Industrial Engineer pradeep.vsp@gmail.com